= A Serial Introduction Part 1 =Winners of ITU-AJ Encouragement Awards 2020
In May every year, The ITU Association of Japan (ITU-AJ) proudly presents ITU-AJ Encouragement Awards to people who have madeoutstanding contributions in the field of international standardization and have helped in the ongoing development of ICT.
These Awards are also an embodiment of our sincere desire to encourage further contributions from these individuals in the future.
If you happen to run into these winners at another meeting in the future, please say hello to them.
But first, as part of the introductory series of Award Winners, allow us to introduce some of those remarkable winners.

NTT DOCOMO, INC.

Hiroshi Ishikawa

https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/
Fields of activity: 3GPP Core Network Standardization,

GSMA Network Group Activities

IMS and 5G Standardization Activities in 3GPP and GSMA
It is a great honor to receive the ITU-AJ Encouragement
Award, and I would like to take this opportunity to thankeveryone that has supported me, leading to this great award.
One of my first standardization activities was at 3GPP in2006, introducing Domain Specific Access Control, which allows
independent access control for 3G CS and PS domains. I waslater involved with IMS and have contributed to “CommonIMS,” which became the foundation for next generation
telecommunication services used by multiple access, including
fixed access.
In 2017, I joined 5G standardization activities. In order toroll out 5G in the market as fast as possible, Non Stand Alone(NSA) was standardized first, using existing EPC and supporting
enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB). At the same time, StandAlone (SA) has also been standardized using a new core network
known as 5GC, in order to support valuable features beyond
those provided by eMBB. I contributed to enhancements required
in both core networks to provide improved features and user

Wataru Ishidaexperience compared with the previous system.
I also participated in activities at GSMA dealing withroaming for both 4G and 5G. These included activities tofacilitate VoLTE roaming, promoting faster migration from2G/3G voice roaming, and activities to create new profiles for 5G
roaming. While 3GPP defines the features, GSMA defines sets ofprofiles for its usage, which is important for network operators inrolling out commercial services.
In all of these activities, I believe having active discussions
with many delegations, both online and offline, was importantto have deeper understanding and contribution to the standards.
With networks expected to evolve to 5G, standardizing further
5G network features and methods for migration from legacy
networks will be key requirements. I would like to continue
to contribute to these activities together with the many otherexperienced delegates, from both technical and user requirements
perspectives, to help evolve the market.

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE EAST CORPORATION
https://www.ntt-east.co.jp/en/
Fields of activity: ICT development

International Collaboration through APT activities
It is a great honor for me to receive the Encouragement Award
from the ITU Association of Japan. I’d like to express my sincere
gratitude to all those involved in the ITU-AJ as well as to mysupervisors, seniors and colleagues at NTT and NTT East, andthe trainees and project members from various countries. In
the Global Office of NTT East, I was engaged in international
cooperation through the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT),JICA, and NTT Vietnam (currently NTT e-Asia).
For APT, I engaged in the planning and management of
human resource development training, international collaborative
research, and pilot projects using special contributions from theJapanese government.
In APT training, I planned and managed training courses forpolicy makers and engineers in the Asia-Pacific region, mainly on
broadband, NGN, and e-government, in cooperation with various
companies and institutions.
In APT collaborative research, we collaborated with theAdvanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) in thePhilippines and other institutions, conducting proof-of-concept
studies such as for agricultural sensing networks in rural areas andinvestigating and analyzing the correlation between air pollution
and traffic volume and flow in Metro Manila.

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For APT pilot projects, we carried out a project to build
an Internet connection and educational content distribution
environment in Indonesia in collaboration with several universities
and research institutions in Japan, connecting a city hall,several junior high schools, high schools, universities, and local
telecenters.
I hope that results from these efforts will become use cases
contributing to solving issues in ICT development, especially in

Noriyuki Inoue

rural areas.
I am currently involved in regional development incollaboration with local governments, local financial institutions,and venture companies, and I am working on designing andbuilding a smart city that will enhance convenience for local
residents and tourists, utilizing advanced technologies such as
AI and IoT. I would like to continue to work to improve living
standards in developing countries, making use of these efforts.

KDDI CORPORATION
http://www.kddi.com/english/
Fields of activity: S pectrum and Radio Regulation

Activity toward reaching a resolution in WRC-19
It was completely unexpected, but I am very happy to receive
this ITU Association of Japan Encouragement Award at thistime. I would like to offer sincere thanks to everyone at the ITU
Association of Japan and everyone in the Japan delegation toAPG-19 and WRC-19, from MIC and other organizations, fortheir guidance and encouragement.
Before participating in WRC-19 as the Japan delegation, I had
no idea what sort of assembly the WRC was. I heard from senior
members that they competed over frequencies, conflicts of interest
occurred, and meetings could continue all night, not reaching adecision until the participants had reached their physical limits.
I was given the role of APT coordinator, involving a WRC issue
that was considered difficult to reach agreement. Two groups were
sharply opposed: one wanting to protect terrestrial business andthe other attacking to promote satellite business. As such, to avoid
being physically overcome, I paid careful attention to my healthas I entered Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, where WRC-19 was beingheld.

Suguru Okuyama

As the APT coordinator, I was promoting APT proposals
created through APG, but many countries have different
perspectives on APT. At WRC-19, I could not even get a
consistent approval from the various Asian countries, though
I would have expected them to be amenable, so at times I felt
isolated and helpless. Even so, I had off-line talks with country
representatives that had objections, and sought advice from theAPG-19 chairperson and others, and was able to get cooperation
on APT, to reach a resolution on this issue that was causing somuch concern. Fortunately, it did not come down to battle ofphysical limits.
WRC-19 came to an end, and unexpectedly, I wasrecommended for chairperson of the Drafting Group for issues inAPG-23, leading up to WRC-23. I will take this recognition fromthe ITU Association of Japan as encouragement, and continue
studying and contributing to discussion and creating resolutions at
APG and WRC.

NTT DOCOMO, INC.
https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/
Fields of activity: Mobile communication

Open Interface Standardization Activities at the O-RAN Alliance
I am very honored to receive this Encouragement Award fromthe ITU Association of Japan. I would like to offer sincere thanks
to the ITU Association of Japan and everyone that has given theirguidance and encouragement.
O-RAN was established in February, 2018 by five mobile
operators: AT&T, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, NTT
DOCOMO and Orange. The objective was to make Radio
Access Networks (RANs) including 5G more extensible, open andintelligent. Today, 230 companies around the world, including 27

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operators have joined O-RAN (as of January, 2021).
NTT DOCOMO’s 5G network, which began commercial
services in March 2020, uses equipment compliant with theO-RAN open front-haul (FH) interface specification, andits biggest feature is that it enables interconnectivity between
equipment from different vendors. Previously FH interfaces havegenerally been vender-specific, O-RAN specifies detailed andcomprehensive specifications which enable connections between
equipment from different vendors.

O-RAN had participation from more operators and vendors
than its xRAN predecessors, so there were companies expressing
caution and doubt about feasibility of multi-vendor connectivity
in an early discussion phase. I worked tenaciously, repeatedly
advocating for the value, feasibility and merits of the effort toboth operators and vendors, speaking from NTT DOCOMO’s

Hirokazu Kamoda

experience with multi-vendor connectivity. I also listened toopinions from other companies and led the discussion using
my skill and experience summarizing and guiding the various
opinions at 3GPP. As a result, my O-RAN colleagues and I wereable to publish the first O-RAN FH interfaces specification inMarch, 2019.

Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nippon Hoso Kyokai)
https://www.nhk.or.jp/corporateinfo/
Fields of activity: Broadcast Auxiliary Services

Activities related to broadcast auxiliary services
It is an honor to receive this ITU-AJ Encouragement Award. I
express my sincere gratitude to the ITU Association of Japan andall those who have given me guidance and encouragement.
I have been acting as a member of the Japan delegation toITU-R WP5C since 2016, contributing to WP5C mainly on twoissues. The first relates to 42-GHz-band wireless systems used inbroadcast auxiliary services. This wireless system enables reliable
contribution links to be established quickly for HDTV and 4K/8Kbroadcasting, where neither wired nor wireless communicationmeans exist. I contributed to adding parameters for this system
to the recommendation for frequency sharing studies (F.1777).
At a time when the frequency identification for IMT-2020 (5G)
was taking place, these parameters provided timely input andcontributed to the study of frequency sharing.
The other issue concerns WRC-19 Agenda Item 1.14,
regarding High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS). The
6-GHz band is one of the frequency bands assigned to HAPS
and has a regional restriction. WP5C was conducting sharingHiroyuki Saito

and compatibility studies to remove the restriction. The 6-GHzband is also used by wireless systems used for live broadcasts
and emergency reporting. To examine whether the HAPS
interferes with existing fixed wireless systems in Japan, weexamined whether the HAPS proponents' sharing conditions wereappropriate. I proposed modifying the conditions in considerationof fixed wireless systems in Japan. At the WP5C meeting, I
struggled to gain acceptance for our proposal, but it was notaccepted. However, through constant negotiations, the parties
concerned were able to compromise and agree on a value that
could effectively protect the fixed systems. Finally, it was reflected
in a new report (F.2437) and the CPM document. I hope both
HAPS and existing systems will coexist and develop in betterways.
Through these activities, I was able to experience international
negotiations firsthand and learn a lot. I will continue to makeefforts to contribute to the effective use of radio waves.

Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
https://www.oki.com/
Fields of activity: SG13, SG15

Lessons learned in standardization activities at ITU-T SG13 and SG15
I am very thankful to be receiving this Encouragement Awardfrom the ITU Association of Japan at this time. I consider it
yet another gift from everyone who has given their support andcooperation, and I have many to thank.
Through much deliberation on network virtualization andslicing in SG13 and SG15 since 2018, a recommendation wascreated from our proposed work item in March, 2019 (Y.3151).
One important lesson learned through standardization
activities is to discuss issues with delegates from other countries,
while understanding and respecting their perspectives. Sometimes

I talked with participants from other countries over lunch about
topics other than standardization, building good relationships,
and this then helped our discussions proceed smoothly. I felt
strongly that gaining broad knowledge and education from a
global perspective is both interesting and important for crosscultural communication.
I hope to continue contributing to internationa lstandardization activities, participating in deliberation whilebuilding good relationships with attendees and others from various
countries.

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